Smith Farm Gardens · East Haddam, Connecticut
LATE SUMMER · APPLE ORCHARD CEREMONY · FULL-SERVICE · AL FRESCO GARDEN PARTY · MINIMALIST · WHITE + GREEN
As featured on Style Me Pretty: A Late Summer Garden Wedding at Smith Farm Gardens Rooted in Natural Beauty →
A New York City couple who wanted a dinner party, not a ballroom. Her words for the day were romantic, elegant, magical and minimalist. Minimalist is the hard one. Smith Farm Gardens’ sunken garden and 1700s farmhouse did most of the design work, and in mid-September the property’s own limelight hydrangeas were turning blush on the bush. So our job was restraint: white and green, locally grown, highly textural, a little wild at the edges. Fewer flowers means every stem has to earn its place. Here’s how each one did.
locally grown limelight hydrangea + queen anne’s lace bouquet
The bridal bouquet was meant to look gathered, not built. It was a wild, meadow-style mix of limelight hydrangea, Queen Anne’s lace, waxflower, scabiosa, white delphinium and frosted explosion grass. A long, natural silk ribbon was tied in a loose cream bow and left to trail. It’s the bouquet you’d make walking the property with clippers at 7am, which is exactly the point.
There was no traditional bridal party. Instead, her closest friends wore floor-length floral-print dresses with no flowers in hand, because the prints were doing enough. The groom wore a textural boutonniere of cream spray rose tied with ivory ribbon. It was clean and classic against black tie.
flowers used: limelight hydrangea · Queen Anne’s lace · waxflower · white scabiosa · white delphinium · frosted explosion grass · cream spray rose
Where the flowers came from: Most of this wedding was grown within an hour of the venue. We sourced through the Connecticut Flower Collective, a women-run cooperative of small farms based in Middletown. The limelight hydrangea alone came from six farms: Eddy Farm, Four Root Farm, Little Hen Farm, Scantic Valley Farm, Anderson Acres and Muddy Feet Flower Farm. Each farm’s blooms were at a slightly different stage of fading from cream to blush, and that variation is the texture you see in every photo. White Blizzard dahlias came from Sweet Acre Farm, and Snowmaiden scabiosa came from Tiny Acre Farm. Our traditional wholesalers filled in the delphinium and spray roses.
a silk square-neck gown, prada slingbacks + her mother’s beaded bag
The bride wore a fitted ivory silk gown with a square neckline, delicate straps, a low back finished in fabric-covered buttons, and a modern slit. Her styling was minimal on purpose: a loose, natural updo with soft waves, a simple pearl necklace, and a white beaded purse that had been her mother’s. Her shoes were a wedding-day gift from the groom, ivory Prada slingbacks and her first designer piece.
He started in a classic black tuxedo, then changed into a light blue linen suit for the reception, her gift to him. Groomsmen wore a mix of navy, tan and gray. Kristen Sardini Design did the paper, including ivory menus in green ink that carried the garden’s palette to every place setting.
a smilax-draped pergola ceremony at smith farm gardens
The couple married in Smith Farm’s apple orchard, beneath the white pergola that stands there year-round. We covered it in trailing smilax so it looked overgrown rather than decorated. Two oversized wicker baskets sat at its base, overflowing with local limelight hydrangea in faded, antiquing tones. That cream-to-blush shift only happens with late-season hydrangea. Nothing else was needed. The aisle stayed bare, and the orchard filled the frame.
The best moment had nothing to do with flowers. A broken bridge stranded the priest, so the groom’s sister got ordained online minutes before the ceremony and married them herself. The bride’s Nana gave a reading that left the orchard in tears, and her mother followed with a favorite prayer. Before the vows, the couple paused for a moment of silence for loved ones who had passed.
Nothing went to waste: Once the ceremony ended, we moved the hydrangea baskets to flank the tent entrance. They worked twice, and guests walked past them on the way to dancing. Repurposing ceremony flowers is one of the easiest ways to make a floral budget go further.
bud vase clusters + candlelight in the sunken garden
Cocktail hour belonged to the couple. A 20-pound wheel of Dutch Gouda, a gift from a friend, anchored a charcuterie spread for the groom’s roots, alongside Dutch fries in paper cones. For the bride there was an oyster bar with chilled rosé. Our sculptural bar arrangement held its own there, then moved into the reception lounge once dinner started.
Dinner was served al fresco in the sunken garden, with long farmhouse tables and white-linen rounds mixed across the lawn under string lights. The long tables ran with bud vases at varying heights, each holding a single-flower grouping of Queen Anne’s lace, white dahlias, hydrangea or scabiosa. Clear glass hurricanes with pillar candles alternated with slim tapers, and votives were scattered down the center. Each round was built around one oversized etched glass hurricane from Mrs. Alice, which the bride brought herself, with bud vases and votives circling it. In all, roughly a hundred bud vases went out, and everything sat below eye level. That kept conversation open across the tables and left the garden as the view.
The details finished the tables: linen napkins with eyelet edging draped over the table edge, menus laid on top, fluted water glasses, rattan table numbers, and oak cross-back chairs with white cushions tied on. As the light went, guests moved into a Sperry sailcloth tent for dancing and dessert. Greenery stretched across the entrance between the two ceremony baskets, so the garden carried inside, and lounge seating sat off the dance floor. The cake (vanilla buttercream with fresh berries) never actually got cut. It became breakfast the next morning, with champagne.
flowers used: limelight + Firelight hydrangea · white Blizzard dahlias · Queen Anne’s lace · white scabiosa · white zinnias · smilax · seasonal greenery
behind the scenes: a sweltering smith farm setup with three pistils
Mid-September in Connecticut is supposed to be easing into fall. This one didn’t get the memo. Setup started at noon in full sun, and by the 2:30 first look it was hot enough that every bud vase felt like a small negotiation. We had help from Three Pistils, a trio of freelance hired guns who also run the Connecticut Flower Collective or work alongside its farms. These are the women who know these flowers from the field up. All of the hydrangea at the base of the pergola came from farms they work with every week, and they know exactly how much heat a stem of Queen Anne’s lace can take before it gives up. Between the four of us, the pergola got its smilax, the baskets got filled, and roughly a hundred bud vases went out across the sunken garden. By the time guests sat down, the only thing wilting was us.
the vendor team (+ a planner we’d follow anywhere)
This day was planned by Jen Strunk Events, one of our favorite planners to work beside. Jen and her team are based in southeastern Connecticut and plan weddings from Guilford to Newport. They know the venues and vendors along that stretch of coast better than almost anyone, including the best-kept secrets. A planner like that is why a day this pared-back runs so smoothly, because there’s nowhere for a missed detail to hide.
Link to Colleen Anne Lennehan’s Photography Website
Featured on: Style Me Pretty, August 2025
Floral Design: First Blush Floral Design + Planning | Photography: Colleen Anne Lennehan | Planning + Design: Jen Strunk Events | Catering: A Thyme to Cook | Venue: Smith Farm Gardens | Beauty: Good Vibes Beauty & Nellie Marie | Rentals: Rent Pearl & Nuage Designs | Lighting: EZ Occasions | Etched Glass Hurricanes: Mrs. Alice | Band: Blue Label Band | Content: Cait Josephine | Local Flowers: Connecticut Flower Collective
from the couple
“The team was easy to work with—professional, accommodating, and attentive to our vision. We appreciated their attention to detail and how smoothly everything came together. We received many compliments from our guests and were very happy with the overall look.”
frequently asked questions
Does First Blush design weddings at Smith Farm Gardens?
Yes. We’ve designed several Smith Farm Gardens weddings in East Haddam and have more on the calendar, so we know the sunken garden, the pergola and the tent well. For more of our work there, see our guide to Smith Farm Gardens wedding flowers.
What wedding flowers are in season in Connecticut in September?
Limelight hydrangea, dahlias, Queen Anne’s lace, scabiosa, zinnias and ornamental grasses are all at their peak from Connecticut farms in late summer and early fall.
Can you use locally grown wedding flowers?
Yes, and we lean on them whenever the season allows. We source through the Connecticut Flower Collective. Locally grown stems are fresher and more characterful, and they’re a more sustainable choice than flowers shipped across the country.
Can ceremony flowers be reused at the reception?
Almost always. At this wedding, the ceremony’s hydrangea baskets moved to the tent entrance, and the bar arrangement moved from cocktail hour into the reception lounge.